Employers must stop making staff fit exercise around work

For years, workplace wellbeing has largely treated exercise as something that happens around the working day. Employers often offer gym discounts, subsidised memberships or fitness classes, while employees are expected to find the time and motivation to make use of them before work, during lunch, or after they log off. But is that approach still fit for purpose?

The issue is not necessarily that employees are failing to exercise. In fact, research from Hussle found that motivation is strong, with 77% of UK employees exercising at least once a week. Yet 70% say their working routine increases the amount of time they spend sedentary, while 61% say long hours at a desk negatively affect their health.

This points to a more complicated picture. Someone can attend a gym three times a week and still spend the majority of their working day sitting. A workout outside working hours can support physical health, but it does not necessarily offset a working routine built around prolonged periods of inactivity.

That means employers need to think beyond the question of whether employees have access to exercise, and consider whether the working environment makes movement realistically achievable in the first place.

For many employees, movement during the working day is still treated as a distraction from productivity rather than something that can support it. Taking a proper break, stepping away from a screen, or suggesting a walking meeting can feel like an indulgence when workloads are high. But creating opportunities for movement does not have to mean compromising productivity. It can simply mean giving employees greater flexibility in how they structure their day.

This is particularly important as working patterns become more varied. Employees are no longer necessarily following the same routine, commuting to the same office or working alongside the same colleagues every day. A workplace fitness benefit that relies on everyone being in the same place at the same time is therefore unlikely to work equally well for everyone.

Employers should instead look at how wellbeing support can fit more naturally into different working lives. That could mean encouraging movement breaks, making it culturally acceptable to step away from a desk, or giving employees access to a wider range of fitness and wellbeing options that they can use around their own schedules.

The wider point is that exercise should not be viewed as something employees have to squeeze into their lives once the working day is over. If employers are serious about supporting long-term wellbeing, they also need to consider what happens during those eight hours in between.